The present invention relates generally to the field of information transfer between devices, specifically automatic information transfer within a data processing system. More particularly, the present invention relates to the selective transfer of information between a data processing center and a data processing device, such as a mailing or shipping system.
The need for mailing/shipping systems to transfer information from a main system to a customer system in efficient time spans and at less cost has increased in recent years. The growth in the number of overnight carriers and the consistency of two and three day delivery carriers have created vast fleets of transport vehicles representing many transportation modes. Those individuals and businesses using these carrier systems rely on the accuracy of the information contained within their systems to ensure timely delivery of mail items.
Carriers are companies that provide services to their clients for facilitating the transport of letters, parcels, bulk goods, or anything that can be shipped by public, Common, or specialized transport means. There is a great variety in the types and scope of services that can be provided by the individual carrier.
Mailing and shipping systems often rely on, or require, the ability to operate under changing environments and/or changing or updated information. When systems require changing environments and/or changing or updated information, it is also important that the system is provided the most accurate information and in an effective and efficient manner. Therefore, timely transfer and activation of the information are necessary in order to ensure the accuracy of systems relying on that information.
The growth of shipping demand has fueled the drive for carriers to develop new system efficiencies. Technological advances and better methods of doing business, in turn, have spurred greater demand for carrier services. The net result is that the volume of parcels being shipped has continued to spiral upward and so have the number of customers relying on these carrier systems.
An example of one such system requiring updated information is a weighing system, such as a carrier/shipping scale having the capability of calculating charges based on the sensed weight or size of a parcel or mail piece and the corresponding country""s carrier rating information. Such systems are developed and manufactured by Pitney Bowes Inc. of Stamford, Conn. These weighing systems require specific postal rate information, without which a mail piece may be returned for insufficient postage, or a carrier manifest rejected as inaccurate, resulting in delayed delivery and/or increased cost. Postal rates and carrier rates are set by each country""s postal regulation systems (such as the United States Postal Service or the Royal Post Office for the United Kingdom) or also by carrier regulations. Therefore, a rate change occurs when any individual carrier (for example, U.S Postal Service(copyright), United Parcel Service(copyright), and Federal Express(copyright), etc.) changes its rates. As a result, the scale charts, PROM""s, CD""s, and disks are updated with the new rates.
The rates may be provided to customers on floppy disk, as scale charts, programmable read-only memory (PROM""s), and compact disks (CD""s). Pitney Bowes Inc. offers updates to the rates by providing customer""s access to new PROM""s, CD""s, floppy disks, and scale charts, such that the veracity of the systems relying on this information is maintained. Therefore, it is necessary to inform customers that rate updates exist in an efficient and timely manner. The impact of these rate changes is that every system relying on the data must be changed contemporaneously with the actual dictated rate change, or the system will send invalid information, such as incorrect postage amounts or incorrect zip to zone conversions.
To efficiently update these systems, certain information transfer methods have been devised and implemented. One such method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,506 issued on Jan. 12, 1988 and assigned to Pitney Bowes Inc., entitled xe2x80x9cPROM Card Arrangement for Postal/Shipping Scalexe2x80x9d and describes storing look-up tables in a programmable read-only memory device (PROM) to provide an information-receiving device with the latest and most accurate information. In order to transfer information, the information provider must create a new PROM containing that information and ship the PROM to the user. The user must then physically remove the old PROM and install the new PROM into the device. Other prior art systems employ a flash PROM or a floppy disk to store and transport updated information. Still, other systems, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,348 issued on Jul. 7, 1998 and assigned to Pitney Bowes Inc., disclose storing a number of active postal rate tables in a memory, disabling access to certain tables and enabling access other tables. Another such method has been disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/942,264 filed on Sep. 30, 1997, which uses object-oriented design programming languages to provide a mechanism for downloading rate data specific to a carrier manager access data system. These systems may also require other software system changes, such as delivery data, zip-zone data, i.e., any information which changes and which is utilized by the system.
Recently, the rates have also been made available through network downloads. Many rate files and software files are large and cumbersome; therefore, when downloaded, they require significant amounts of time and space. In many cases, attempts to download these files fail, requiring several attempts at downloading before the system is updated. Also, in many circumstances, failed downloads require the assistance of a service technician. Because there are so many systems requiring updates within a short period, service technicians may be delayed in solving all the download problems. Again, these delays cause the systems to be unreliable and a costly burden.
The prior art systems discussed, however, do not provide for specializing transfer of information from a data center to a shipping or mailing system. A significant inconvenience and inaccuracy related to unreliable information may also arise from the inability to keep track of which users have received updated information and which users still require updated information. The time delay caused by inefficient file transfers prevents maintenance of the veracity of the system and potentially causes both users and service providers lost profit, lost business, and/or an increasing business expense.
According to the present invention, automatic request, transfer and verification of information at a reduced cost are achieved by providing a data processing system having a data center and a data processing device. Information transfer occurs if the data center determines that the data processing device requires such a transfer. The information determined to be transferred is based upon a determination that the data files stored within the mailing/shipping system is not the most current information such that an update is required. Upon completion of the transfer, the information is verified and activated for use. The file transfer is initiated by either the server or the product. The server system polls the shipping/mailing system to check its inventory to determine if an update is necessary, or the server may be instructed to automatically initiate a transfer when a new file has been created. The system parses the files into segments files and compares similarly parsed existing files to determine which component files have changed, and thus, require updating. The server then communicates the files, which include the required changes, to the mailing or shipping system. For example, if a postal server/or carrier publishes a rate change version, and the product requests a version, the server would poll the inventory and recognize there is a more recent update than requested. The most recent file would then be sent to the product.
In this scenario, however, the server not only parses the existing file into component files but also breaks the segmented files into a set of fragments. The existing file fragments are compared against similarly fragmented new files to determine the required changes. These smaller changes are packaged by the server into a file for download and transmission to the shipping/mailing system. Components of the product, i.e., shipping/mailing system, reassemble the new fragments into the existing file and complete the update. Once the initial transfer is complete, the system resumes normal operation.
There are three ways to view how product sections can be detected for files updates. First, during data generation, the newer reversion of data file contains modified segments, generates a table of these differences, and maintains this table on the server. When the new version is sent to the product, the known newer segments only are delivered to the product. In another scenario, during the data generation process, a header is attached to the data file. The header contains a directory of data segments along with their version number; and when the server queries the product, the server requests the header tables and, therefore, determines the version of all data segments. Server processing can then determine which new segments are needed and deliver them to the product. In a third scenario, the file version is stored in the data segments. The data design is modified to be expanded to include space to contain this data. When the server queries the product files, it gathers the version information and then updates the product files. The data delivery itself may be streamlined using several file delivery techniques, such as zipping the files, or using different engines.
Upon completion of the information transfer, the device application software compares the effective date of the transferred information with the current date as indicated by the real time clock. If the comparison reveals that the dates either match or that the dates are in the past, the information is activated, and the data processing device is directed to operate under the activated information. If, however, the date is a future date, then the device application software will not activate the new information until the dates match the real time clock. A record of the devices that were contacted and/or the transfer data is maintained at the data center. Record keeping for both billing purposes and information accuracy is enhanced.